This story in a nutshell: We've only got 42 minutes to save
the ship...
Mockney Dude: The Tenth Doctor immediately takes charge of
the situation on the Pentalion, it's a role he is very accustomed to
fulfilling when there is danger afoot (and why it was so effective when he
failed so spectacularly to succeed in Midnight). 42 is almost a dry run for
series four's superb chiller, showing the Doctor at his most confident
(striding about, tackling several dangers at once, being witty and clever and
working out precisely what has been happening to make the sun so angry) but
also at his weakest too (once he is possessed by said sun and tortured
horribly). It's an acting tour de force for David Tennant who is so in stride
at this point he's got swagger. He keeps all the characters focussed on
tackling the immediate danger and not letting their personal feelings get in
the way. There is time to get in touch with your emotions when your not going
to be roasted alive. Only the Doctor would be insane enough to cling aboard the
skin of a ship that is so close to a roasting sun and look into its heart.
Tennant's hysterical, terrified turn as the Doctor being consumed from within
by a violently angry sentient sun that has had its heart torn free is something
to witness. It's quite an admission from the Doctor to admit to being this
scared and the way he growls that he could kill them all is genuinely
frightening. Chibnall might not be pushing himself in narrative terms but he
takes the Doctor to a very dark place and allows Martha to take control, both
intriguing innovations. For a moment at the conclusion he is quietly affected
by how close to the edge he was brought in this story before snapping back into
his usual persona.
Medical Student: This is technically Martha's first outing
as a fully fledged, paid up member of the TARDIS crew and given Human Nature
sees her relationship with the Doctor played very different and they barely
feature in Blink it is the only time she gets to just land somewhere and have
an adventure in this role (Utopia counts too but that is the opening instalment
to her exit story). Martha is wonderful in 42, it's a great story to show what
she can bring to the series as a companion. Apparently simply being the
Doctor's assistant is something of a dirty word these days but I don't see
anything wrong with having a strong female supporting character that isn't
trying to usurp the titular character of this show on a frequent basis. Martha
gets to be funny (her pained reaction to how long her mum takes to switch on
her laptop in a life and death scenario), flirty (her tactile relationship with
Riley) and brings with her oodles of energy
and charisma. All without having to shove the Doctor to one side and
claim the show as her own. Martha's panic in the escape pod is palpable,
Agyeman really going for it and giving a fearless performance. You get a real
sense of the Doctor and Martha belonging together in a way that you have before
when they reach out to each other across the vacuum of space. The fact that she
can't here his repeated cries of 'I'll save you' is very touching. She
realises that if she dies in the future that her family will never know what
happened to her, she will have just disappeared. In a lump in the throat moment
Martha tries to explain this to her mother (who is already suspicious that her
daughter is in danger) without telling her anything tangible. With the Doctor
in such pain at the climax, Martha gets the opportunity to save his life for a
change and try and salvage the situation. She has more than earned her stripes
at the end of this adventure, giddy at the thought of being given the key of
the most wonderful craft in the universe.
Sparkling Dialogue: 'Well done, very hot.'
The Good:
* Doctor Who has featured so many spaceships in it's time
that you would need an entire universe to cram them all in if you were going to
bring them together in one space. From the ship that ventured out into the
Sense Sphere in The Sensorites in the first series right up to the train that
screamed through space carrying in a homicidal Mummy in the most recent one, we
have been taken through space in an astonishing assortment of space craft. To
make a space vehicle unique is quite a tough task to pull off in modern times
because everything has been done before. However 42 has a unique setting in
Doctor Who terms. This isn't a gleaming, pristine sexy space craft, instead
it's a tired, worn out, industrial, dripping with grease and grime, hissing
with steam and saturated with light so bright from the nearby sun that it hurts
the eyes. The visuals are quite stunning and the actors are made to look hot,
sweaty and uncomfortable as they dash about trying to prevent the ship from
being swallowed by the sun. There were many things that impressed upon me when
I first watched 42 but the superbly realised setting (especially the vivid
lighting) was paramount.
* The extended effects shot along the hull of the Pentalion
as it is helplessly dragged into the corona of the sun convinces the viewer of
the danger that the Doctor and Martha have found themselves in. The immediate
peril means that the story gets its claws into you almost instantly and never
lets go until the climax. Telling a story in real time across 42 minutes brings
with it a lot of problems, not least not being able to take any narrative short
cuts - you have to experience every action that the characters go through in
this dramatic three quarters of an hour. But it also means that time is of the
essence and there is always a palpable sense of danger. I think Chibnall and
Harper pull of this immediacy with some skill, maintaining an incredible pace
and stifling atmosphere.
* On paper the idea of Martha having to answer a pub quiz to
prevent a spaceship from bring roasted alive and phoning home to her mother in
another galaxy and time period to google the answers is absurd but on screen it
transforms into something funny, touching and ominous. It's wonderful to have
more scenes between Martha and Francine because they are needed to show just
how much her mother cares for her (all she has offered her so far is scathing
disapproval), it's amusing to hear Martha make up excuses for why she needs the
answers and what the death rattling screams are in the background and the
season arc is brought into sharp focus when we realise that the calls are being
monitored for the mysterious Mister Saxon. Bravo on taking a potentially ropey
idea and pulling it off with so much confidence that it becomes one of the most
entertaining aspects of the story.
* If you want to see what Graeme Harper brought to Doctor
Who then watch the five minute sequence that sees Martha and Riley evacuate the
ship in an escape pod. The pacing is outstanding, the visuals a delight and the
reactions from the actors really drag you in. The scene suggests that Martha is
safe in the escape pod before it starts undocking, then they manage to abort
the sequence and then it spits them from the ship anyway. It's a rollercoaster
and it has nothing to do with the central narrative. From sheer panic and volume
to silent screaming as the Doctor and Martha are split apart by the vacuum of
space. A fantastic set piece, one of those rare occasions that they manage to
make space seem very scary in Doctor Who ('...the prettier it looks, the
more likely it is to kill you').
The Bad: You could complain that the supporting characters
(McDonnell, Vashtee and Riley aside) are little more than canon fodder but
there is nothing wrong with that in a story that has so much to do and so
little time to do it in. Enough of the guest cast are given back story and the
rest are there to die in spectacular ways (people should better than to say 'kill
me now' in a Doctor Who story) and show how dangerous this creature is.
They perform that function admirably. Michelle Collins does everything that
story requires off her and it isn't what you could call a bad performance (in
the Jenny Laird meaning of the word bad) but I could think of tons of stronger
actresses who would have been able to have play the tough space captain with a
heart. She's okay but the character thread would have had more impact had it
been brought to life by an actress with more chutzpah.
1 comment:
It's pretty sad to think that the only televised adventure Martha gets as a proper companion before she's on the way out only lasts 42 frantic minutes of running around a ship that's falling into the sun. No wonder she eventually chooses to get off. If Series 11 under Chris Chibnall ends up being as frantic as this, I don't know if my heart will last the whole season.
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